Dispenser



Jan. 31, 1933. P. H. HORWITT 1,895,661

DISPENSER Filed y 26, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ram. 11. noawrr'ria 01' srnmarmnn, nassacnusnr'rs', ASSIGNOB 1'0 THE nnnasna rnonuc-rs conrm, or cmcaeo, innmois, A coaroaarron on W sconsin m'srmisnn Application filed Kay 26,

This invention relates to a dispenser for folded articles, such as paper napkins and the like. More particularly, the invention relates to'the actuating mechanism associated with the" follower plate for advancing the foldedarticles to be dispensed toward the distially on'the broken'line VV of Figure 2, w

pensing window.

One of the principal difiiculties 1n connection with the operation of dispensers for foldednapkins and the like has heretofore been the tendency of the dispensing mechanism either to hold the stack of folded napkiiis under too great compression to enable the napkins to be, withdrawn easily or else.

5 under insuflicient compression to maintain the napkins in the desired position relative to the dispensing window. Where the nap kins in the dispenser are stacked vertically upon edge the pressure of the follower plate go against, th e-rear of the stack must be sufficient to maintain the napkins in erect position without rmittin them to slump or crumple up. 'Fd accomp ish this end, the'follower plate not only must exert a fairly uniform pressure against the rear of the stack of napkins in the dispenser but the pressure must be substantially uniform throughout the entire area of the napkin in order to prevent it from binding at the sides, top or bottom. The present invention constitutes an improvement in this respect over the dispensing device disclosed in my copending'application entitled Dispenser, Senal No. 421,336, filed i January 17, 1930.

It is accordingly an object of this invention to provide a dispenser having improved actuating mechanism for maintaining the articles to be dispensed in proper position.

' Other and further important objects of this invention will become apparent from the following description and appended claims.

On the drawing:

Figure 1 is a front elevational view of a dispenser of my invention illustrating a suitable manner in which it may be mounted.

Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially on line 11-11 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken substanioao. Serial No..455,577.

. Figure 4 is a sectional view taken substan- "5 tially on line IVIV of Figure 2. Figure 5 is a sectional view taken substanshowing operation of actuating mechanism in dotted'lings. v

As shown, on the drawing:

The reference numeral 1 indicates as a 'whole a dispenser of my invention, which may be suitably mounted, as shown in Figure 1, in guides 2 from the under side of a table top 3, or the like. The particular manner of mounting the dispenser, however, does not form apart of the present invention but is separately described-and claimed in a copending application filed of even date herewith, Serial No. 455,578.

The dispenser 1 comprises a casing 4, a drawer 5. slidably mounted therein and actuating mechanism, indicated as a whole by the reference numeral 6. The casing 4, which is of rectan lar cross section and open at the front an top, is preferably formed of sheet metal, one piece bein stamped to form the bottom and side walls 8 and 9, respectively, Y

of the body, of the casing and another piece being flanged and secured to said body por-. tion to form the rear wall 10. The side walls 8 and for a portion of the length of their respective upper edges are extended inwardwardly and reversely bent to provide outwardly opening grooves 11 and 12 for receivmg the inturned flanged ends of the guides 2. A gravity catch 13, pivoted from one of the guides 2 and normally engaged in a slot rmed in the walls of the groove 12, serves 2 look the casing in position upon the guides The drawer 5, which isin the formof ascoop open at the top and rear end,is likewise preferably formed of sheet metal and com rises a body portion formed from a. single s eet stam ed to provide a bottom wall 14 and side wal s 15 and 16, respectively. A plate 18 is suitably secured tothe front edges of the body portion of the drawer. plate 18 extends beyond the side, top and bot- Said be removed for refilling with napkins or the like.

' The dispensing mechanism 6 comprisesa pair of jointed levers 22 and 23, pivotally con nected as at 24 and 25, respectively, to angle pieces 26 and 27 secured to the rear wall 10 of the casing. At their respective -front ends, thejointed levers 22 and 23 are pivotally connected by means of angle pieces as at .28 and 29 to a follower plate 30. Said follower plate 30 is ofsubstantially the same area as the cross sectional area of the inside of the drawer 5 and is supported by means of the jointed levers 22 and 23 ina constantly upright position, as will be more clearly explained later on. A roller 31 is mounted from the/rear face of the follower plate 30 by means of bracket members 32. Said roller 31 serves to elimi nate friction that would otherwise exist/between the bottom edge of'the follower plate 30 and the bottom of the drawer 5 and.facilitates the movement of the follower plate within the dispenser.

The jointed lever 22 is secured at its "ends, as at 28 and 24, to upper corner portions of the follower plate 30 and rear end wall 10, respectively, whereas theother jointed lever 23 is connected to lower diametrically opposed corner portions of the follower plate 30 and rear wall 10. Accordingly, thejointed lever 22 is bent downwardly and the lever 23 is bent upwardly to permit said levers in full bent position, asshown in dotted lines, to be accommodated within said casing. This arrangement also results in a compensating action, as will later be explained.

The links of-the jointed lever 22 are pivotally connected at their adjacent ends by means of a pin 33, upon which is mounted a coiled spring 34. The ends of the spring 34 extend in opposite directions along the links forming the jointed lever 22 and are bent as at 35 and 36, respectively, for reception in notches 37 and 38 formed in the upper edges of said links. The coiled spring 34 being under compression tends to uncoil and in so doing to straighten out the lever 22. One of the links of the lever 22 is extended beyond the pivot pin 33 with its end bent inwardly to provide a stop 17 for engagement with the lower ed e of the other link. I

n a similar manner the links of the jointed lever 23 are pivotally connected at their adj acent ends as at 40 and a coiled spring 41 proaided. The. ends of said spring 41 are bent in, as at 42 and 43 to extend through notches 44 and 45' formed in the lower edges of the links.

tends beyond the pivot pin-4O and is turned inwardly, as at 46, to provide a stop for engagement with the upper edge of, the other link'to limit the-spreading action of the spring. Movement. of the jointed levers-22 and 23 is indicated by the dotted-lines in Flgures3and5.' v q Assuming that the dispenser is empty, the drawer 5 is unlocked by inserting a finger through the dispensing window 19 and lifting up the catch 21 from-its engagement with the catch member 20. The drawer is then pulled forwardly for complete removal from the casing. Afterbeingfilled with folded] papernapkins 200, the drawer is replaced in th'e casing. While the drawer is out, the jointed levers 22 and 23 not only support the follower plate 30 but prevent it from advancing beyond the front edge of the casing, due

One of said links of the lever 23 ex- 1 to the steps 17 and 46provided for this purpose. In the act of replacing the drawer, the

follower plate 3( )v will be pushed backwardly bythe stack ofnapkins therein until it' assumes apposition such as that indicated in dotted lines in Figuresf3 and5. The eiztra compression thus placed upon the sprmgs 34 and '41 will tend to spread apart the ends of the'respective leversi22 and 23 and thus cause pressure actingthrough' the follower plate 30 against the rear of the stackof napkins, tending'to urge the stacktoward the dispensing window. As the, napkins are removed one by one and the stack diminishes in size, the continued action of the springs 34 and 41 maintains the requisite pressure betwwn the follower plate and the stack of napkins to keep the napkins erect and in proper dispensing position.

It should be noted that the arrangement of the jointed levers 22 and 23 to actagainst the upper and lower portions of the follower plate 30, respectively, tends to equalize the pressure upon the top and bottom of the follower plate 30 so as to maintain it in a vertical plane at all times. If accidentally the follower plate becomes tipped at an angle, the compensating action of the spring actuated levers will promptly cause the follower plate. to regain its proper position as soon as the accidental force causing the tipping is removed. The elimination of friction betweenthe follower plate and thebottorn wall of the drawer 5 by means of the roller 31 further aids in keeping the follower plate in correct position. vIt is thus practically impossible to cause the follower plate 4 to bind against the walls of the drawer when filling the dispenser, as is frequently the case in othertypes of dispensers not embodying my improved, compensating mechanism for advancing the follower plate.

I .am aware that many changes may be made and numerous details of construction may be varied through a wide range without departing from the principles of this inven tion, and I, therefore, do not purpose limiting the patent granted hereon otherwlse than necessitated by the prior art.

I claim as my invention:

1. A dispenser for folded paper napkins comprising a casing, a drawer slidable in said casing, a follower plate, spring-pressed lever means pivoted on the rear wall of said casin and also pivoted on said plate near diagona ly opposite corners thereof, and a roller centrally positioned on said plate extending below the lower edge thereof.

2. A dispenser for paper napkins comprising a casing, a follower plate, a pair of spring-pressed pivotally connected levers 7 having a pivotal connection with the rea'r wall of said casing and having a pivotal connection with said plate at near one corner of said plate, anothemllir of spring-pressed pivotally connected levers Having a pivotal connection with the rear wall of said casing and having a pivotal connection with said plate at near a corner of said plate diagonally opposite to said first-mentioned plate connection, said levers being adapted to urge said plate forwardly towards the front end of said casing, means to limit the extent of forward movement of said plate and to simultaneously prevent movement of the levers of each of said pairs of levers into alined straight-line relation, said means comprising a stop member on one lever of a pair of levers adapted to engage the other lever of said pair of levers.

3. A dispenser for paper napkins comprising a casing open at its front end, a follower plate in said casing, an arm formed of a pair of pivotally connected members, said arm having a pivotal connection near a corner of said plate and a substantially alined pivotal connection with the rear wall of said casing, another similar arm having a ivotal connection near a diagonally opposite corner of said plate and a substantially alined pivoted connection with the rear wall of the casing, springs cooperable with said arms to urge said plate forward towards the front end of said casing, and means on said arms to limit the extent of forward movement of said plate and to simultaneously prevent straight-line alinement of the connected members of said arms.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name at New York, New York County, ew York.

PAUL H. HORWITT. 

